Mourners descending on Wilson family home after tragic Mayo crash

A diversion in place after a fatal car crash in Claremorris, Co Mayo (Image: Keith Heneghan)

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Mourners are descending on the Wilson family home this morning as news of Monday’s devastating crash sinks in.

Marcella’s three other children; Amy, 16, Kelly, 14, and Anthony, nine, are now being cared for at their grandfather Josie’s home at Cross, Binghamstown.

Her brother Noel and sister Annette both live locally and her brothers John and Michael made a dash home from England yesterday afternoon.

County councillor and neighbour Teresa Whelan told the Irish Daily Mirror: “I’m just on my way back to the family home now with sandwiches.

“The community will come together, that’s just what we do here.

“The family are going around picking up clothes for the children and looking after the practical things for them this morning.”

Cllr Whelan lived next to Marcella at Seaside, Belmullet.

“Marcella was my neighbour and a dear friend.

“She lived here with her four children.

“Just looking over at her house this morning and seeing that she’s not there and there are not kids there is just heartbreaking.

“Things will never be the same again.”

Teachers at Belmullet National School are this morning waking up to the loss of a cherished student.

Seanin Wilson, 7, tragically died along with his grandmother Mary Ann Wilson, 70s, and her daughter Marcella, in her 40s in a crash on Monday.

Seanin Wilson was in senior infants at the Mayo primary school.

Principal Redmond Connolly said: “Our school community is deeply shocked and saddened at the tragic loss of life of Sean Wilson, a senior infant pupil, his mother Marcella and grandmother Mary Ann in yesterday’s car accident.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Wilson family at this time.”

Mourners arrived at the Wilson home in Binghamstown on Monday night to support the grieving members of the family, including Mary Ann’s husband Josie.

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Marcella, who was driving the car, had three other children and Sean was a student at Belmullet National School.

Family members in England were flying home last night to comfort the distraught relatives in the north Mayo area.

Senator and family friend Rose Conway-Walsh told the Irish Mirror: “The whole community has been plunged into deep shock and sadness. Our hearts go out to the whole Wilson family.”

The three victims were believed to have been travelling to Galway.

It is understood the car had pulled out of a link road to Claremorris on to the N17 moments before the tragic crash.

Fine Gael Councillor Henry Coyle said: “It’s horrifying that such a thing could happen to a family like that. Nobody can believe it and everybody is stunned. Everyone who’s ringing me from home is completely shocked.

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He said: “It’s obviously shocking, everybody in the community is appalled. It’s just such a black day. The Wilsons are a very well-known and liked family. It’s just shocking.”

Mayo County Council representatives and officials held a minute’s silence before their monthly meeting yesterday.

Cathaoirleach Richard Finn said: “As chairperson and on behalf of the members and the staff of Mayo County Council I’d like to express our sympathies to the families of everybody involved in the tragic incident. It’s beyond belief.”

It is understood a motion was discussed at last week’s Claremorris Municipal District meeting to put forward recommendations to address the road, the scene of numerous previous accidents.

Fine Gael councillor Tom Connolly said: “I’ve raised it at meetings before. There have been 14 accidents there since the new bypass was erected.

“We tried to get the National Roads Authority to do something to address it.”